Clamping buckle



Jan. 9, 1951 Filed April 6, 1946 O. H. GRISWOLD CLAMPING BUCKLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1'.- I fi M ATTORNEY ah yaw/5mm? 5 M CLAMPING BUCKLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 6, 1946 INVENTOR. (in/e11 .6? [infirm/d HTTOIPNEY Patented Jan. 9, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT @FHCE CLAMPING BUCKLE Owen H. Griswold, Santa Monica, Calif., assignor to Air Associates, Incorporated, Teterboro, N. J.

Application April 6, 1946, Serial No. 660,219

5 Claims. 1

This invention relates to buckles for straps or belts, and particularly to buckles for safety belts such as are used in airplanes to retain passengers in position in their seats.

The object of the invention is to provide a buckle which will be convenient and safe in operation and which will automatically act to give a complete and secure grip on the belt in each fastening operation.

Further objects of the invention particularly in the provision of a gripping member automatically latched in open position for insertion of the strap and subsequent release to gripping position on the strap will appear from the specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l is a side view of a belt buckle illustrating the invention;

Fig. 2 is a face view of the buckle shown in Fig. 1 with a portion broken away;

Fig. 3 is an end View of the same with another part broken away to show the interior construction;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the buckle with the gripping or clamp member in latched open position;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on enlarged scale taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2 and with a portion in solid lines to show the inactive position of the latching pin;

Fig. 6 is an end view similar to Fig. 1 but with parts broken away to show the structural features; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on enlarged scale illustrating a modified form.

In the specific embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, a strap plate I having side flanges I2 carries pivoted to it a clamp member II having an eccentric gripping portion I 3 engaging the end of the belt strap inserted between the plate I 0 and the clamp. The other end of the belt strap is fastened to the strap plate ID, for instance, by looping it through the strap slot It as indicated in Fig. 1.

In open inactive position of the clamp member (Fig. 4) the latch pin I engages in the latch hole I6 to hold the clamp in open position and permit free movement of the strap between the serrated clamping eccentric I3 and the strap plate I0. In this position the user simply inserts the strap between the clamp and the plate to desired extent giving a snug fit of the belt. The buckle may be grasped in any desired manner without interfering with the free insertion of the strap end, and the clamp I I does not have to be grasped to be held in released or open position, since the I annular spring 33 between the flange i2 and the washer 32 holds the clamp I I, I3 to the left with the latch pin I5 in hole IS retaining the parts in initial position for insertion of the belt end.

With the strap end in place between the eccen. tric clamp I3 and the plate 50, the clamp is re,-

leased for automatic pivoting to gripping position by endwise movement toward the right of Figs. 2-5, shifting the latch pin it out of the retaining recess i6 and permitting the clamp to turn clockwise (Figs. 1 and 6) or downward in Figs. 2-5 to press the eccentric I3 tightly against the strap and bind it in place between the eccentric and the face of the plate It. This swinging grip of the clamp is actuated by the spring 29 under initial torque in clamping position of the parts, which torque augmented by the lifting to release the latch pin. At the instant of release, the clamp freely swings or snaps to gripping position with a predetermined momentum giving a secure binding action between the parts. As shown in the construction in the drawings, this endwise movement of the clamp is effected without any engagement of the clamp by the hand of the user, who simply presses against the end piece 23 and so shifts the pivoted parts to the right (Figs. 25) between the flanges I2 to disengage the latch pin from the hole I6. This pivoted construction comprises a spindle or clamp pinI'I slidingly mounted in recess 2I of the right flange I2 and having an integral head I8 positioned against the flange under the action of the spring 33. At the other end. the spindle I! has a reduced end 20 on which are mounted the bushing 22 and the fin er piece 23. the end 24 of reduced portion 26 being peened or riveted over to snugly hold the e parts in place with the inner ledge of the bushing 22 a ainst the shoul- 'der I9 of the spindle. The bu hing 22 is formed with the polygonal end portion 25 slidingly fitting in the correspondingly shaped recess 26 of the left flan e I2, the other end of the bushing being rotatably fitted within the end recess 28 of the clamp I I. The helical spring 29 is housed in cylindrical recess 28 in the end of the clamp member II and has one end so held in a perlph eral slot 34 of the bu hing 22. the other end 3| of spring 29 being retained in recess 36 at the inner end' of the housing recess 28. This spring is assembled in position under a torque tending to tip the clamp member II into clamped position as described, the counter-torque being provided by the polygonal engagement between the head 25 and the recess 26.

The disk spring 33 through washer 32 presses the clamp I I to the left (for instance, Figs. 2-5), in turn pressing the bushing 22 and spindle 21 toward the left through endwise thrust on the sprin 29 or by engagement of the end 31 of the clamp II against the shoulder of the polygonal head portion 25. The bushing 22 in turn presses the spindle I1 to the left, holding its head I8 in engagement with the right flange I2 under the action of. the spring 33. In the open position of the clamp II (Fig. 4), the pin I5 is held in recess I6 under this action of the spring 33 and this in turn retains the clamp II from closing under the torque of the spring 23. When the user presses the head piece 23, the bushing 22 and with it the clamp II are forced to the right (Figs. 2-5) sufficiently to withdraw the pin I5 from the recess I6, whereupon the clamp automatically springs to closed position (Figs. '1, 2, 3 and 5) and is retained in this clampin position under the torque of spring 29. Upon removal of the releasing pressure by the user, the spring 33 urges the clamp II toward the left, bringing the pin I5 against the inner surface of the left flange I2 (Figs. 3 and 5).

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 7, the strap plate or frame 40 with its flanges 52 carries the clamping member or latch M by spindle or pin 41, disk spring 44 being interposed as shown between one end of the eccentric 43 and the adjacent flange 42. Pin 45 carried by clamp 4| engages hole 46 to lock the clamp in open position. Recess 5i in eccentric M houses the inner end of bushin '52 having shoulder 53 under head 56 engaging the end of the clamp, and a spring 59 having its ends 6!] and 6| in the clamp and bushing, respectively, tends to turn the clamp to closed position, the outer hexagonal end 56 of bushing 52 being slidably held against rotation in a correspondingly shaped opening 58 in the flange 42. provided at each end of the pin 41 and th hexagon end 56 is extended as a head for engagement by the finger of the user to slide the bushing 52 and clamp 4| endwise, compressing spring 44, releasing pin 45 from retaining hole 46 and permitting the clamp AI to swing to closed position under the action of spring 59. The bushing 52 and clamp GI being slidably mounted on pin or spindle 41, the latter is free and does not necessarily move with them and ma remain in the position shown as the other parts are shifted.

In operation the user opens the clamp for in sertion or release of the strap by lifting pressure under the end of the clamp I I, turning it upward to the position shown in Fig. 6. During this movement the latch pin I5 rides against the inner surface of the left flange I2 and enters into the latch hole I6 as soon as this position is reached, being automatically shifted into this latched position by the endwise movement of the clamp to .the left under the action of spring 33. The parts remain in this position for proper insertion of the strap until the user releases the latching means by pressure on the finger piece 23. In the meantime, the user is entirely relieved from the necessity of holding the clamp in. open strap-receiving position. He merely brings the parts together, slipping the belt end along the strap plate and intz; snug fitting relation to his position in the sea The latching operation is automatic and secure:

Retaining snap rings 48 and 54 are i againstaccidental release, and the parts are positioned within the outer limits of the buckle in protective and unobtrusive manner.

While the invention has been described in connection with a specific embodiment, it is not lim ited thereto and is intended to cover such modifications thereof as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A belt buckle comprising a strap plate and a cooperating gripping member havin relative rotary movement around an axis extending transversely' with relation to said strap plate and relative transverse sliding movement along said axis, resilient means between said member and said plate yieldingly turning and sliding said members relatively to each other, and means between said plate and said member acting to latch the latter in open non-gripping position, said means being released by relative sliding movement between said plate and said member to permit said member to snap to gripping position under the action of the turning efiort'of said resilient means.

2. A belt buckle comprising a strap plate having side flanges, a relatively pivoted clamping member mounted between said flanges for combined turning and sliding movement around and tive lateral movement between said member and said plate to permit the parts to turn to gripping position under the action of said resilient means.

3. A buckle for a belt or the like comprising a strap plate and a cooperating gripping member pivoted on an axis transverse to said plate and having a cam face eccentric to said axis and adapted to contact the surface of said belt, a spring tending to turn said member to closed position of said cam face, latching means between said plate and said member adapted to automatically engage and hold said member in open position against the action of said spring, and a transversely movable part resiliently held outward for engagement by the hand of the user and yieldingly moving inward to detach said latching means and release said gripping member for closing movement under the action of said spring.

4. A buckle for a belt or the like comprising a strap plate having integral side flanges of generally triangular formation, a pin transversely spanning the space between said flanges adjacent the base of the triangles and consisting of a relatively small end seated in one side flange and an opposite larger flat-sided end fitting in a correspondingly flat-sided recess in the other flange, a gripping member journalled on said pin between said side flanges and having a toothed cam face eccentric to the axis of the pin and moving adjacent the surface of the plate to bind and hold a strap thereon adjacent said transverse pin, a strap slot in the plate adjacent the other end thereof, a handle on said gripping member moving between said flanges to carry its end. toward said strap slot in clamp-' ing position of said member on said strap, a recess in one end of'said gripping member surrounding said transverse pin adjacent said enlarged head, and a coiled spring in said recess around said pin and having one end connected to said head and the other end to said member to resiliently urge said member to bring the cam surface thereof in holding grip against the strap.

5. A belt buckle as set forth in claim 1 in which there is a center pin on which the gripping member is slidably mounted and which has its end protruding through a portion of said strap plate so that said gripping member may be independently moved to unlatching position by pressure at one end thereof without forcing the protruding end of said separate member to shift 15 with saidmovement.

OWEN H. GRISWOLD.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

